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[Little_Alicia]

The past couple months my periods have been late from exercising. I actually had to stop for 5 days in order for it to come this month, and I'm sure if I would have kept plugging away it wouldn't have. I do weight training 2-3 times a week, and cardio about 3-4. I feel great, and no other sign of over-training. Does anyone else have this problem? Is there anything that can be done? I'm pretty sure I'm getting enough calories...

[katiesuarez]

Hi Alicia,

If you miss your periods altogether, it's called Amenorrhea. Here are the causes:

Developmental problems, such as the absence of the uterus or vagina
Hormone imbalance produced by the endocrine system
Excessive amounts of the male hormone testosterone
Improper functioning of the ovaries
Intrauterine infection or endometritis
Menopause, usually between the ages of 40 and 55
Pregnancy or breast-feeding
Discontinuation of oral contraceptives
Disease (such as diabetes or tuberculosis)
Stress or psychological disorders
Malnutrition, extreme weight loss, anorexia nervosa
Extreme overweight (obesity)
Extreme exercise (such as long-distance running)
Drug abuse

[swanso5]

i'm no period expert but exercise would not make them late or no chicks would exercise

it's probaby best to go to the doc and find or amaybe a naturopath

how little actually are you?

[supershi]

same thing happened to me for about 2 yrs...I had Amenorrhea, caused by over-exercising and anorexia - I still rarely get my period, even though my life and body has changed dramatically to the complete opposite

I would very much recommend seeing a doctor as it could be a number of things, don't wait and see if it goes back to normal - if its been this way for a while already

[vamp]

women who drop below a certain bodyfat level begin to see a decline in the number of periods they have (frequency) and can get to the point of having no periods as well. There are well documented cases with female olympians and atheletes who have gone through this. As you are already a "petit" woman and are highly active with, very probably, a lower bodyfat level, I would lean towards this. But as everyone has said, see your doctor, it never hurts to be safe and it will set your mind at ease, lowering your stress which will be healthier for you overall anyways!

Cheers

[SarahPT]

How do you know it's from exercise? That would be highly unusual. Regular exercise should not cause period loss. As said before, a very low body fat can cause period loss. Periods can tend to become irregular and even stop when a woman gets below 12% boody fat for an extended period. It varies from woman to woman though. I have been at 10% several times and mine never even slowed.

[katiesuarez]

Regular exercise shouldn't affect them, but extreme exercise could. When I was anorexic, I was also exercising two to three times each day. It threw my cycle out of whack and didn’t return to normal until I had overcome the anorexia and cut back on cardio for a few months.

Everyone is different. What affects one person may not do anything to someone else.

[JNicole2009]

I have had the same problem but recently began the Anabolic Diet. The increase in fats have restored my cycle. I have not had it in about 5 months prior so maybe look and see how little fats you are consuming? I am still in recovery from anorexia (3 years!!!) so have to really be careful!

[HOUSTON TEXAN]

lol @ feared pregnency.

[DianaB]